Gardens: Fragments of Life and Loss: Series of 4 paintings – acrylic and oil on paper

These paintings are from the exhibition and publication, Gardens: Fragments of Life and Loss – an artistic enquiry that systematically explores themes of memory, impermanence, and transformation through the motif of the garden. Drawing upon visual language and observational practices, the body of work investigates how natural environments serve as metaphors for human experience, particularly in relation to loss and regeneration. The paintings communicate knowledge by documenting and interpreting the cyclical processes of change and adaptation in nature, offering insights into how landscapes reflect emotional and cultural memory. This body of work contributes to interdisciplinary dialogues between art, ecology, and the human condition through a methodical engagement with site, material, and temporality.

Acrylic and oil on paper, 67cm x 28cm
Blue Gold Winter
Jacaranda Dreamscape
The Handkerchief Tree, Hillston
Agapanthus and Banksia Rose

Blue Gold Winter aims to situate the viewer as the painter from a lower point of view – painted seated rather than standing. The composition is distinctive as it also positions the viewer in the shadows, mingling in the foreground. The central tall tree splits the view to add to the verticality of the composition and the soft tonal variations of the foliage describe the sombre note of autumn’s change and loss.

Jacaranda Dreamscape aims to heighten the viewer’s experience via an active foreground and the shifting contrast of golden light and dark dappled shadows. The view is then reframed by the two opposing dark tree forms which is a formal compositional device used to invite the viewer into the space. The small central bush – its exuberance is personified to draw the viewers’ attention to the strong horizontal in the midground that bisects the composition. The trees on the left and right help to reframe the composition.

The Handkerchief Tree, Hillston aims to restrict the viewer accessing the background view and accentuates the sense of depth and verticality in the foreground area through the positioning of the two trees. These two central objects dominate the composition but are held in place by the shifting horizontal patterns created by the shadows. This acts as a form of semi-abstraction with the aim of partially disrupting the picture. This work also documents the change that has taken place in the garden through the depiction of the space left by the loss of a heritage tree.

Agapanthus and Banksia Rose seeks to convey the layered, often fragmented nature of how we experience gardens—as places where moments unfold gradually and where key elements are sometimes only glimpsed in passing. Much like a walk through a real garden, the viewer’s perspective here is intentionally partial and obscured. The glimpse of blue from the pool, a central visual anchor, is framed and partially hidden by the cascading banksia rose, the pool fence, and the agapanthus in the foreground, all of which act as visual barriers that shape and restrict the gaze. This sense of layered observation encourages a slower, more contemplative engagement with the work. The strong horizontality of the lower half of the composition is reinforced through the rhythmic use of light and dark tonal variations in the grass and the rocks that edge the garden bed, adding a sense of structure and depth to the scene.